The Labour led government is to re-nationalise the railways after reaching an
agreement to purchase Australian owned Toll Holdings rail and ferry operating
business for $665 million, thus completing the wholesale re-nationalisation of
all aspects of the rail and ferry network.
This is a welcome
development, despite the high price tag. No one doubts the absolute disaster
rail privatisation has been. Even Finance Minister Cullen recognises this when
he said "The selling off our public rail system in the 1990’s and the running
down of the asset afterwards has been a painful lesson for New Zealand".
Quite clearly, if it hadn’t have been re-nationalised then the
government would of ended up in a similar situation to that of the British
government. Whereby significant taxpayers’ money is given to the private rail
operators to maintain profitably, without any real investment in the service or
infrastructure. Such a scenario was unacceptable to the Labour cabinet. Hence
the outcome. The Prime Minister Helen Clarke is on record as saying that major
government investment in the rail network is due and is a key part of their
transport strategy. The Prime Minister said "modernising our transport sector
is central to transforming our economy and making it truly sustainable…. with
rising fuel prices and growing awareness about the challenge of global climate
change, many nations are looking to rail as a central part of 21st century
economic infrastructure". These are fine words from the Prime Minister, but
this is extremely doubtful on the basis of New Zealand capitalism.
The
National leader John Key was in favour of the ‘British’ scenario, and
said "They’ve (government) got no experience in running rail and no clue how
they’re going to do it". John Key later said that a National government would
not re-sell the asset, in line with his previous statements of not privatising
assets in the first term if elected. Such statements are easily dispelled when
the re-nationalisation of rail was first mooted when National’s Deputy Leader
Bill English said that they would privatise it!
The company will become a State Owned Enterprise (SOE) on
July 1st and may merge with Ontrack (SOE for rail infrastructure). The SOE will
be run on market lines. Here, there is a derailment waiting to happen. Quite
clearly the new board will be stacked with pro business people and run in the
interests of the capitalists.
If Labour is to truly answer
the National Party on having the necessary expertise to run the railways the
answer lies in the 3,200 workers who actually work on the New Zealand railways.
The Labour led government must abandon the pro capitalist market
approach to running SOEs and adopt a socialist model for SOEs that involves the
workers running industry and society. This can be implemented quite simply by
workers’ management and control of SOEs on the basis of one third of the places
on the management board elected from the unions in the industry, one third
elected from the CTU representing the working class as a whole and one third
nominated by the government. Such a move would begin the socialist
transformation of New Zealand society.